Black Sabbath – The Ballet
★★★☆☆ Rebellious
Festival Theatre: Thur 30 Oct – Sat 1 Nov 2025
Review by Suzanne O’Brien
Black Sabbath – The Ballet at the Festival Theatre is a Halloween weekend treat of brilliant dance and darkness. Having premiered in 2023, the production returns with an extra poignancy following the recent passing of lead singer Ozzy Osbourne.
The idea of merging heavy metal and ballet has, and will continue to raise eyebrows, but it’s exactly this audacious blend that makes Birmingham Royal Ballet’s production so intriguing. It’s not a straightforward retelling of Black Sabbath’s story, either. More a crossover homage to the four men credited with inventing heavy metal and the music they brought into the world – part biographical, part fantasy, part introspection and part concert.
Black Sabbath – The Ballet. Pic: David Polston.
Split into three distinct 30-minute acts, choreographed by Raúl Reinoso, Cassi Abranches and Pontus Lidberg, the production offers three different ways of exploring the band’s music and legacy. The score, performed live by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, blends reimagined Black Sabbath hits with new interpretations, creating a sound that alternates between familiar and unexpected arrangements.
It opens with sixteen dancers, all in black, evoking the industrial heartbeat of Birmingham – the city that shaped Black Sabbath. Backed by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia’s reworkings of classics like War Pigs and Iron Man, the pounding rhythms, movement and stark staging conjure the feeling of a factory floor.
passionate yet delicate
Guitarist Marc Hayward strides on stage as some sort of spirit, his live riffs slicing through the air. Hayward has to work a little harder to get the audience going than he would with a heavy metal crowd, but his showmanship soon wins them over. The dancers move with his guitar, sometimes in sync, sometimes in opposition and at points it feels like he is in control of them.
Cohesion falters occasionally, but the act’s standout moment comes in a passionate yet delicate pas de deux between Yaoqian Shang and Javier Rojas. Never parting lips, they twist, roll, and lift effortlessly. As the piece builds into what feels like a festival, where each dancer has a moment to shine with grand jetés and pirouettes a plenty, the act comes to an end – perhaps a bit too soon.
Yaoqian Shang and Javier Rojas. Pic Yohan Persson
Recorded interviews with the band and Sharon Osbourne are played out during the second act, and we hear fascinating snippets of stories of their beginnings, relationships, conflicts, and traumatic incidents. On stage, three groups of four dancers, representing the band members, move with grounded, contemporary energy against a backdrop of six fluorescent horizontal beams, like giant guitar strings.
The choreography of both the group and solo parts sometimes contrasts with the spoken memories: soft, fluid gestures set against tales of chaos and excess. As the act builds and the pace quickens, the whole thing comes together in a rush of intensity and precision.
The final act explores the bands legacy and draws elements of the previous acts together. The full company of over 30 returns to the stage, joined by the guitarist, in an exuberant celebration that works to prove ballet and heavy metal can co-exist. Riku Ito’s playful movements with the guitarist and their genuine delight is infectious.
slightly ominous
Alexandre Arrechea’s set design amplifies this energy: large, round, disc-like rollers decorated with band iconography are rolled out by the dancers, incorporated into their movements and are used to create mini-stages across the space. A large, upturned car, with the bands iconic demon perched on top, is also moved around. While slightly ominous, it feels more exciting than frightening, matching the celebratory tone of the act.
Black Sabbath – The Ballet. Pic: Yohan Persson.
Yes, the concept can be hard to wrap your head around. The piece swings between different moods, styles, and choreographic approaches, so it doesn’t always feel connected or flowing. With so many creative ideas and no obvious linear narrative, it can be unclear where the production is heading.
Yet despite this, it works in its own strange way, offering a series of striking and enjoyable moments, with a thrilling soundtrack booming around the space.
In its brave attempt to fuse two seemingly opposite worlds, Black Sabbath – The Ballet succeeds in creating something fresh. It won’t be for everyone, but The Birmingham Royal Ballet, under the direction of Carlos Acosta, as always deliver technical brilliance and push boundaries.
For Black Sabbath fans, this might be their first experience of ballet and if this production can open that door, that’s something worth celebrating.
Running time: Two hours and 15 minutes (Including two intervals)
Festival Theatre, 13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT
Thurs 30 Oct – Sat 1 Nov 2025
Evenings: 7.30pm; Sat mat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Black Sabbath – The Ballet. Pic: David Polston.
ENDS
